The Cooperrider residence was designed and built by the owners, Beth and Bryan Cooperrider, with the goals that it be as energy-efficient as possible, affordable, comfortable and have good indoor/outdoor connectivity.

The home is passive solar by design, with East-West orientation and a lot of south facing glass to take advantage of the low sun angle to the south in the winter. The south side of the home also has a solar greenhouse that captures sun in the winter and helps heat the home.

Passive solar design not only warms the house, but bringing the sun in makes for a home filled with natural light.

Passive solar homes have minimal windows on the north, as there is no solar gain and even the best windows are less insulative than the walls.

The connection of the greenhouse to the home makes it more accessible with greater ease in taking care of plants and harvesting.

Food production at home is a great carbon reduction strategy, as local food doesn't have the embodied carbon from transportation that store-bought produce does. It also is possible to use more sustainable, regenerative methods at this small scale and the produce is fresher.

A well-insulated building envelope is the first step in an energy-efficient home. This home has an insulated concrete form (ICF) footing made of Quad Lock with an R-value of 24, well above that required by code. The slab was also insulated with R-10 rigid insulation.

Spray foam insulation is a great air sealer as well as insulation, but is more expensive and takes more energy to manufacture with corresponding elevated carbon impacts. This home optimized the use of it, with spray foam only in the lid where it is most useful in preventing heat loss.

In addition to the insulation batts in the wall, this home has R-5 rigid insulation on the exterior. This insulation acts as a further air barrier, and prevents thermal bridging, the transfer of heat through the wood framing of the wall.

This home's mechanical systems are all electric, making it easier to go net-zero energy. This is the electric boiler that heats the home. Electric units are always 100% efficient, as there is no fuel that isn't converted to heat in the water heating process.

In-floor radiant heat has many benefits including noise reduction, greater thermal uniformity and higher efficiency. Indoor air quality is improved because there isn't the issue with air movement stirring up dust.

This is a masonry fireplace. In addition to the burning that happens in the fireplace itself, further combustion happens in the convoluted exhaust ducts that go through the masonry walls. This makes for higher efficiency combustion and less particulates and incomplete combustion products in the exhaust. The masonry is also heated by the gases in the flue ducts and radiates that warmth to the room.

Water for the home is also heated with electricity. This is the Stiebel Eltron on-demand electric water heater that was installed. On-demand units are more efficient than their tanked counterparts because energy is not needed to maintain the temperature of the water in the water heater when there isn't demand for it.

This home was designed to reduce water as well as energy usage. This photo shows the box for the showerhead which is WaterSense certified. WaterSense is an EPA program that certifies products that meet specific criteria for water reduction as well as performance. This showerhead uses 20% less water than standard models.

Dual flush toilets are a great low flow solution for homeowners who feel that low flush toilets don't work. This allows for an option of a lower flow than the standard low flow most of the time, and a standard flush volume when needed.

An ERV (energy recovery ventilator) was installed in this home to ensure healthy indoor air quality. With tight building construction, it is important to think about ventilation because there is little air exchange with the outdoors. Chemicals from off-gassing furniture, paints and building materials, as well as emissions from cooking, can build up inside creating a harmful home environment. This ERV can be controlled to optimize for the best amount of air exchange with the outside. Ventilation happens in an energy-efficient way, through the heat exchanger inside.

Cork flooring is an excellent material selection for climate impact reduction. As a natural carbonaceous material, its use in the building sequesters carbon, keeping it out of the carbon cycle and the atmosphere. Products like this sequester more carbon than the energy used to produce them creates and are therefore carbon impact negative. This flooring is sustainably harvested; trees are not felled in the process of producing cork.

47 solar panels were added after this home was certified. With all the homes mechanical systems relying on electric power, the system provides for about 76% of the overall energy usage.